Wow, I am so amazing. Look at this quick update – who would've thought I had it in me? As you'll see when you read it, this was a slightly easier chapter to write because I already had pretty much every detail figured out, but Ryan is apparently a very chatty guy. This is definitely way longer than I thought it would be.

Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or Saved – which I may have borrowed a line from


From A Twin's Perspective

Ring

'Finally!'

A wave of relief washed over Ryan. One more day had passed without a mishap involving Sharpay and her...amnesia. He still had trouble admitting that she had a problem. At least his patience was getting better.

Gathering his things, Ryan stood and proceeded alone down the quickly filling hallway. Sharpay had decided not to go to half of her classes today and he wasn't completely sure why. Her disappearance didn't worry him though; he knew exactly where she was.

"So, what's with the magic act today?" He asked to seemingly nobody after he'd passed the girls bathroom.

"Magic act? Why, whatever do you mean?" An innocent sounding Sharpay responded by his side. She had been hiding in the bathroom for the entirety of their last class period. "I was employed elsewhere and simply couldn't make it to class."

"First of all, we've got to get you off the Jane Austin novels. Second of all, employed in the bathroom? Remind me to never eat what you did yesterday. Thirdly, you just happened to be occupied for every class that you and Troy share? Sounds pretty suspicious to me, Sharpay. What happened after that Head-Trauma Convention? When you came home you were all giddy and starry eyed. What could have possibly changed in the past 36 hours?" To be perfectly honest, Ryan was just about ready to beat on Troy. If it weren't for the fact that Troy was taller, stronger and more practiced in that area, of course. He was just tired of this golden boy making Sharpay feel less than herself.

Sharpay let out a dramatic sigh. "Technically, nothing changed. I just realized that it's never going to happen. I mean, he's great towards me when it's just us, but little miss 'I-have-naturally-curly-hair-and-I-don't-know-how-to-care-for-it-but-it-always-looks-pretty-anyways' is back so he's just going to ignore me again. The problem is, I always seem to forget my resolution to disregard his existence once I look into his eyes. So, instead, I am effectively removing myself from the equation." She responded with a flounce of her hair.

"Well, you seem strangely chirpy about this resolution," Ryan responded, not believing her contentment in the least.

Turning to go down the hallway to his locker, he expected for Sharpay to follow in suit. Instead, he took one step and was yanked back by Sharpay's unnaturally strong grip on his upper arm. He stumbled trying to regain his balance as Sharpay continued straight down the hallway, expecting him to catch up.

"Shar?" Ryan called as he sped up his steps in order to reach her. "Our lockers are down that other hall, remember?" he asked, gritting his teeth to keep the annoyance out of his voice. Why is her amnesia so annoying all the time?

"I know that," Sharpay scoffed. "But Ms. Darbus has the cast list posted and I wanted to check what part I got. If I even get one after that stage light fiasco."

"Oh!" Ryan said, perking up. He was just as curious as she was. They continued down the hall not speaking. As they walked, Ryan let his mind wander back to that disastrous audition. That day never seemed to make sense to him. Why had that stage light fallen? And, since it obviously couldn't be Sharpay's fault, whose was it?

Ryan was so deep in thought, he almost forgot to stop. There it was, posted on the drama club bulletin board located near Ms. Darbus' classroom. There were a few drama club member's hanging around the cast list blocking Ryan and Sharpay's view. Glancing over to his sister, Ryan realized that she wasn't going to be able to look at the sign herself. She was keeping a good distance from the board, all the while watching the sign with a frightened expression on her face as she took short, shallow breaths. Seeing her reaction, Ryan was reminded of their first cast list unveiling way back in first grade. Sharpay had reacted in exactly this manner.

Putting his hand on her arm, he told her softly, "You stay here. I'm going to go look for us." Sharpay nodded without taking her eyes off the sign. Ryan watched her for a second debating with himself. 'We're twins, it's not like I've ever held back before' he easily concluded. Leaning in closer he whispered "You might want to stop looking so scared. Old Sharpay wasn't afraid of paper and ink." With that statement, Sharpay's mouth snapped shut and a hardened expression settled on her face, but she made no attempt to read the list. 'Good enough' Ryan thought.

Unceremoniously pushing his way through the small crowd, Ryan ran his finger down the list.

Lysistrata: Sharpay Evans

Koryphaios: Troy Bolton

Commissioner: Ryan Evans

Lampito: Martha Cox

Not needing to read further, Ryan dropped his finger and slowly turned around to face Sharpay. Troy Bolton got his part. 'Well, that really sucks.'

Ryan raised his gaze to meet Sharpay's and realized she had been watching him that whole time. After seeing his disappointed reaction, her worry had returned to her face in full form. Guilt immediately washed over him, this is her second first cast list and she is dieing to know her part. 'I should have immediately told her, instead of focusing on my own bad luck' he scolded himself. In an attempt to rectify this mistake, Ryan put a smile on his face as he ran to Sharpay and enveloped her in a warm hug. "You got the part!"

Upon hearing this, Sharpay pulled back to hold Ryan at arms length. Looking him dead in the eyes she eagerly whispered "Seriously? I got the part?" Ryan nodded with the same goofy grin on his face. Matching his grin, Sharpay let out a gleeful squeal and pulled Ryan into another hug as they both jumped excitedly in celebration.

"Wait," Sharpay said, instantly halting her victory dance to focus back on Ryan. "Why are we celebrating before you even told me which part you got?"

"Oh. Um, I got the part of the Commissioner!" Ryan said feigning excitement. He started jumping excitedly as they had done for her. Letting out another squeal, Sharpay joined him in his jumping but immediately stopped when his statement had actually processed. Putting her hands on her hips, she settled Ryan with an accusatory glare as his fake celebration slowly petered out.

"I thought you wanted Koryphaios" She stated simply.

"Well, I did. But this part is just as good. In retrospect, I think I prefer this part. It's goofier. And you know how well I can play goofy. Well, you used to know," He insisted. "Anyway, Troy got Koryphaios."

"What?!" Sharpay screeched.

"You should probably stop yelling."

"Troy got in the play? Well, of course he did, he has to invade every part of my life when I don't want him to, doesn't he? Of course, the second I actually need him – poof! His disappearing act is well practiced..." Sharpay turned on her heal and started walking down the hallway still grumbling to herself about Troy.

"Shar, wait!" Ryan called after her. As he was talking to Sharpay, he had realized that he actually was ok with the part he got. But his hatred toward Troy was growing due to Sharpay's reaction. 'Anyone who affects her self-esteem like that does not deserve to get off scot free'.

Catching up to Sharpay, he intently focused his attention on calming her down. He hated seeing her so worked up.

"Shar, don't worry about it. You'll barely have to even talk to him except when it's scripted–"

"–And so, we finally decided on pink–Ouch!"

Ryan jumped back in surprise. Gabriella had just appeared out of nowhere and ran into Sharpay!

Seeing that she had dropped her bag, Ryan instinctively bent down and picked it up before she had even made a move for it.

"Hey! Watch where you're going shorty!" Sharpay spit out, obviously annoyed with the brunette.

Ryan looked over to Troy, who had yet to say anything. He was anticipating feeling angry at the boy who was making his sister so miserable but when Troy met his gaze, he saw what Sharpay hadn't. He saw what Sharpay couldn't. He saw desperation.

"I'm. Sorry. Shar. Pay."

Ryan saw Troy's desperation and he instantly understood what was going on. Troy had finally fallen for Sharpay and it had happened at the worst possible moment. Not only had Sharpay just decided to erase him from her life but Gabriella was back and in fragile condition. Not a very considerate time to break her heart.

With an eye roll, Sharpay continued toward her locker.

Softening, Ryan gave Troy a clandestine nod. Eye's lighting up, Troy let out a fake sigh and slowly started to follow Sharpay down the hall, only to increase his pace to a run after he had taken two steps.

Ryan chuckled and shook his head. 'And to think, that boy beat me at getting the Koryphaios role.'

"Shorty?! We're the same height!" Gabriella burst, apparently slow on the uptake. "Anyway, where was I?"

"I don't know, we weren't talking," Ryan responded hesitantly.

"Ryan? I thought you were Troy!" Gabriella said, clearly surprised to see Ryan standing there.

"I see your keen sense of observation is still in tact. How was your stint in the Country Club's five acre park, by the way?"

"Oh, I was just telling Troy about that. Well, you'll really appreciate this next part of my story. Here, walk with me to Ms. Darbus' room."

Seeing as he had plenty of time before rehearsal began, he acquiesced.

"This particular event happened Saturday, the second day we were at the camp."

'I hope Troy finds a way to work this out with Sharpay. Maybe I shouldn't have let him go talk to her, she wasn't exactly composed enough to listen to anything he would say.'

"So I suggested a talent competition. I have to admit, it wasn't a completely Christian suggestion. I sort of knew, what with all my practice here and at Lava Springs last summer, that I would be a shoe in for the final round. But, I had good intentions, I swear!–"

'Wow, she needs to work on her story telling skills. But she does have great hair. I wonder how she gets it to curl like that. No wonder Sharpay is so jealous.' As Gabriella continued her story, Ryan couldn't help but to wonder why they were headed toward Ms. Darbus' room. 'Gabriella hadn't even auditioned for the musical, what does she need to talk to Ms. Darbus about?' Ryan wondered. 'Where was she that day, anyway?'

"So then we all thought 'wow, she's finally getting it' and everybody was congratulating me for getting through to her. Of course, she had to choose that exact moment to stumble in shouting to some guy 'No more muffins for you! The muffin shop is closed!' with some impudent gesture that I didn't really understand. It was humiliating! I mean, she completely eradicated my credibility! But, don't worry, I won that talent show and chose her as my partner," Gabriella sighed contentedly with a dreamy look in her eyes. "Everybody thought I was so wonderful for sacrificing my own personal enjoyment to help save this poor perpetual sinner."

"Ah, we're finally here!" Ryan exclaimed in relief as they approached Ms. Darbus' closed classroom door. "Sorry, Gabs, I don't think she's here. Well, I should probably, um–"

As Ryan was searching for an excuse to stop listening to Gabriella's story, Sharpay stomped by in an obvious rage. Her face was red with frustration and her fists were clenched.

"I should probably go find out what's up. Promise me you'll finish telling this fascinating story some other time," Ryan said trying his best to look regretful for having to leave.

"Of course, don't worry about it! Sharpay obviously needs you right now. Besides, there's Kelsi. HI KELSI! I can go talk to her. See you later Ry," Gabriella said trotting off to tell Kelsi about her woodland adventures.

Turning in the other direction, Ryan ran after Sharpay ('I seem to be doing this a lot today') seeing her just as she ducked into the girls bathroom. Knowing that she merely needed some time to compose herself, he leaned against the wall outside the entrance and slowly slid down to a sitting position.

Twenty minutes later, Sharpay emerged from the bathroom wearing no sign of her past exchange with Troy except for the angry look in her eyes.

"Better?" Ryan asked.

"Yep," Sharpay responded conspiratorially brightly. "We better go tell Troy that he's expected at rehearsal."

Ryan didn't think that Sharpay was the best person for this task, but he also knew there would be no dissuading her. And, being well practiced in picking his battles, he decided not to argue. Instead, he stood up and simply allowed Sharpay to lead the way.

They reached the Gym doors, where Sharpay shoved Ryan out of the way in order to be the one to open them. Using all her might, she heaved the door open with enough force to make it bang on the opposite.

"BOLTON! You got the lead. If you aren't at rehearsal in fifteen, you're cut!" Sharpay said with a snarl. With that, she turned and walked away in the direction of the auditorium.

"Sharpay, you know Ms. Darbus won't cut him. This is just the first rehearsal. And she's been much more lenient about attendance ever since he was in Twinkle Towne." Ryan tried to reason with her but she wouldn't listen. Throwing her hand up, Sharpay silently told him that she didn't want to hear it. Irritated, Ryan conceded that he had lost this particular battle.

The twins entered the auditorium to find that they weren't the first to arrive. In fact, most of the cast and crew seemed to already be seated and eager to begin.

Taking their usual seats in the middle of the auditorium, Ryan took a chance to look around the room. That was when he noticed Gabriella in the corner of the room talking to Ms. Darbus. By the looks of their body language, they seemed to be having an intense discussion. Ms. Darbus was continually nodding as Gabriella incessantly talked and gestured wildly. 'Oh, I hope she isn't telling her story.' He thought as he lost interest and focused on a different group of students. They were on stage, playing with and laughing at the camel that was used three productions ago. 'Does nobody have respect for the theatre any more?' Ryan thought with disgust as he continued to watch disapprovingly.

"Sorry about that. Anyway, back to my story. That's when we realized that we had to put all our survival skills to test. I decided to fix the camp site as she went out in search of food. Unfortunately, I think she was eaten because she never returned."

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Sharpay snapped as both she and Ryan confusedly turned to look at Gabriella, who had settled herself in the seat next to Sharpay.

"Sharpay? I thought you were Kelsi! My bad," She said with a nervous laugh. Getting up, she quickly shuffled away to join Kelsi who was sitting at her piano, fingering the keys to the opening song.

Before either twin could comment on what had just happened, Ms. Darbus stood up and called everybody to attention.

"Welcome cast and crew of Lysistrata! This is where the true expression of the artist is realized, where inner truth is revealed through the actor's journey–"

"I'm here! I made it, I'm not late!" Troy interrupted as he burst through the auditorium doors. Sharpay groaned in disgust and refused to look over, instead staring intently at Ms. Darbus's glasses.

"Mr. Bolton. This is an auditorium, please be respectful and stop with your abhorrent bellowing!" Ms. Darbus chastised. Troy nodded and took a seat where he had stopped walking, a few rows ahead of the twins.

Re-centering herself towards the cast, Ms. Darbus threw open her arms and bellowed "Now, as I was saying–"

"HAS NO ONE BEEN LISTENING TO MY STORY?!" Gabriella shrieked, jumping from her seat next to Kelsi. "I SAID THAT SHARPAY IS WANTED BY A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION!"

Hearing her name, Sharpay stiffened. Not wanting to reveal her interest, she kept her focus on Ms. Darbus's glasses but Ryan knew she was paying particular attention to what was being said. Ryan, on the other hand, followed everybody else in bringing his gaze to the girl who had just burst out with that ridiculous accusation.

"Gabriella, dear. I can see you are still not feeling well. I think it would be best if you go home now. We'll discuss your participation in this production tomorrow."

Ryan wasn't sure if Ms. Darbus was genuinely concerned about Gabriella's strange behavior or simply angry that she was interrupted again and ardent to get rid of the nuisance.

It took Gabriella a few minutes of deafening silence to agree but she eventually started to slowly nod her head as she grabbed her book bag from the floor. The eyes of every student in the room, excepting Sharpay, followed Gabriella expectantly as she exited the room.

Once she was out of eye-sight, the auditorium filled with the sound of hushed conversations all speculating over what Gabriella could possibly have meant by her statement. From what Ryan overheard, the general consensus seemed to be that aliens had abducted her and she had consequently gone insane. Ryan rolled his eyes. 'People can be so dumb sometimes.'

Not wishing to acknowledge these conversations, Ryan looked away to ensure that he did not make eye-contact with any of his classmates. 'They should stop gossiping. It's just rude!' he fumed silently to himself. Finally, Ms. Darbus collected herself enough to call the room back to attention, and for the third time in five minutes she began her opening speech.


No, you aren't going crazy. Some of that should have sounded vaguely familiar. And no, I'm not going crazy either (at least I think I'm not). I really hope this helped to alleviate some of the confusion. Of course, with my luck it just perpetuated the confusion.

I'm sorry, but just hearing those small pieces of Gabriella's story cracks me up. I was just going to do it that once in the last chapter with Troy – I was thinking of her whole story as I was writing so I didn't realize how random it sounded until I reread it in my edit – but I thought it was so funny that I had to put another scene like that in this chapter. My reasoning for that was purely selfish but you have to admit, it does make her story sound pretty good! And xoblue, I promise the next chapter will have Gabriella's entire story and, believe me, it is funny! (also, yes, that was exactly the Saved I was referring to. Isn't that a great movie?! Hilarious...)

Anyway...Please Review!!!!